How to teach... making friends
A A long summer stretches out invitingly before students (and teachers), but when they return to school
after the break, everything will have changed. The new academic term means new groups
and, for some, the start of a new school.
B With this transition comes the inevitable challenge of
making friends. Children of all ages worry about various things, from finding a
partner to work with in science class to having someone to eat lunch with
on the first day. So, to prepare your students for their next steps, and in time
for the UN International Day of Friendship on Thursday 30 July, this week’s how to teach...
includes a selection of ideas and resources to help your students strengthen current
friendships and make new ones.
C There is an old adage
that to love someone else you must first love yourself, and the same is true of
friendships. Children need to value themselves before they can properly value others,
so kick things off by building self-esteem. Get your students to discuss
their talents – dancing, running, helping at home or drawing. Then share their ideas
during a circle-time activity or record
their thoughts. Next, get children to reflect on others’ qualities by thinking about
what they look for in a friend using a worksheet and game.
Playing as a group or in pairs, students must explain whether each of a variety
of attributes is something a “good friend” or “bad friend” would have. When you’ve
gathered opinions on this, get creative by making colourful friendship posters.
D Discover what worries students have around making friends
by answering the questions primary students often ask. For example, why is friendship important? What if a friend
is mean to me? Do students agree that it’s impossible to share a friend?
Role play might be an interesting way to explore how to resolve problems. Go beyond
the classroom and get students thinking about the theme of friendship around the
world by focusing on relations between countries. Use this to encourage students to think about
what they can do to help create a more peaceful world. As a follow-up activity,
ask students to identify times when they could be a good friend to others. How would
they behave towards a new child in their class, for example?
E
One of the most challenging times in
terms of making friends is moving to secondary school, and a little cinema magic
is a great way to ease the transition. A Back
to School assembly contains a whole section on making new friends at secondary school.
It uses clips from films such as Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, Skateboards
and Spandex… to tackle themes such as first days, making new friends, believing
in yourself and working together. This year the UN International Day of Friendship
is focusing on involving young people in community activities that include different
cultures and promote international understanding.
Adjusted to
(1)
invitingly – lákavě, svůdně
adage – přísloví, rčení
1) Read the article and match each of the headings to
a paragraph.
1 Summer and new school year
2 Self-respect and friendship games
3 Secondary school transition
4 Transition, new friends and the Day of Friendship
5 Friendship questions
2) Read the article and answer the questions.
1 What changes in the new school year for many
students and teachers?
2 Why was the old adage mentioned? What does it mean?
3 What is important to make friends? Why?
4 What should students ask? Why?
5 How can films help solving relationships?
3) Explain the following words and phrases.
1 science class
2 kick things off by building self-esteem
3 circle-time activity
4 it’s impossible to share a friend
5 follow-up activity
4) Answer the following questions.
What is relationship? What are types of
relationships? What is the difference between extroversion and introversion? What
is typical for introverts and extraverts? What do you know about children and
youth criminality prevention?
Video:
Tips, sources of information:
Source:
(1)
How
to teach.. making friends. The Guardian [online]. 2015 [cit.
2015-09-21]. Available at:
http://www.theguardian.com/teacher-network/2015/jul/13/how-to-teach-making-friends-primary-secondary-school
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